Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Retail Ombudsman

Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Retail Ombudsman was given Cabinet Office approval to use the word "ombudsman" in their title; on what date any such approval was given; and whether the Cabinet Office guidance on ombudsman schemes was followed.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Retail Ombudsman has been set up independently of Government and is a non-statutory organisation aiming to provide alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in the retail sector. While anyone is free to set up a business providing ADR, ‘ombudsman’ is a sensitive word whose use in a company or business name requires prior approval by the Secretary of State. No approval has yet been given to the Retail Ombudsman to use this word.   Companies House and BIS are updating their procedures to ensure that the approval process deals with private sector applications to use this word.

Department for Education

Primary Education: Free School Meals

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the success of the free school lunch programme for the under-sevens.

Lord Nash: The universal infant free school meals (UIFSM) programme is a great success. Evidence collected from local authorities and multi-academy trusts in August 2014 suggested that 98.5% of schools would be providing hot meals from the start of the autumn term; and the Department for Education is not aware of any schools which are not offering free meals to all their infant pupils. Over 1.6 million infant pupils (85.2% of all infant pupils) took a free school meal on autumn census day in October 2014 – 1.3 million more than were estimated to have taken a free school meal in the January 2014 school census, prior to the introduction of UIFSM. We know from pilots run between 2009 and 2011 that the introduction of universal free school meals helps to improve social skills, increase attainment and encourage healthy choices, as well as saving hard-working families money.

Ministry of Justice

National Probation Service for England and Wales

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many vacancies for qualified staff there are in each National Probation Service region.

Lord Faulks: Staffing levels are kept under constant review to ensure public safety is maintained. A new reporting tool for the National Probation Service is being implemented which will provide functionality to capture vacancies centrally as part of the ongoing development of workforce planning processes and capability. We continue to invest in a qualified workforce. Last autumn, we made over 270 training places available for new probation officers. A similar number were made available in January this year, and a further intake is planned for April. Recruits undertake on-the-job training and study, and graduate in 15 months as qualified probation officers. This represents the biggest investment in the professionalism of the probation workforce for some considerable time.

National Probation Service for England and Wales

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the current sickness rates for practitioners in the National Probation Service; and what were the rates for 2013 and 2014.

Lord Faulks: Information on sickness absence rates among National Probation Service (NPS) staff for the period 1 June – 30 September 2014 was published on 17 November in a Management Information Release. The annualised rate of absence for this period in the NPS was 10.6 working days lost per staff year. Information for the whole of 2014-15 will be published in the Management Information Addendum to the National Offender Management Service Annual Report 2014-15.   Information on sickness absence rates in the former Probation Trusts is published annually in the Management Information Addendum to the National Offender Management Service Annual Report. The sickness absence rate for Probation Trusts for April 2013 to March 2014, published on 30 July 2014 was 9.8 working days lost per person.   The NPS statistics are not directly comparable to the annual Probation Trust data, as they relate to different timescales.   We take the health and wellbeing of probation staff extremely seriously and have worked closely with the NPS to support staff. We recognise this has been a challenging time for them and they can be extremely proud of how they have maintained standards throughout the transition period.

Ministry of Defence

Veterans: Northern Ireland

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much has been spent to help members of the armed forces living in Northern Ireland with their transition back to civilian life in each of the last three years; and how much of that sum was spent on housing.

Lord Astor of Hever: Assisting our former Service personnel transition to civilian life is of major importance, as indeed is having in place a robust and effective resettlement system that helps our Service personnel on a number of levels. While the Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not centrally record how much is spent on transitioning Service personnel to civilian life, the following table shows the number of individuals with a Northern Ireland postcode who have taken advantage of the services offered by the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) and are in employment. CTP ProgrammeBT PostcodesPlacementsin Northern Ireland BT Postcodes PlacementsOutside Northern Ireland or unknown locationYear 201220132014201220132014Employment Support Programme635445Full Support Programme95130112767489 BT postcodes placements outside NI or ‘unknown location’ – means individuals have recorded a NI address but their work location is outside NI (i.e. they may have a permanent residence in NI which they return to at weekends or holidays or they have not informed CTP of a permanent change of address)  The Employment Support Programme is for those who have served more than four but less than six years. These individuals do not receive the Individual Resettlement Training Costs Grant nor do they have an entitlement to Graduated Resettlement Time (i.e. paid time off for vocational training). However, they can take advantage of the many briefings available and they are supported in their search for employment by the CTP consultants and Job Finding Service, including access to the online jobs portal ‘RightJob’. They can also take advantage of resettlement training courses on a ‘standby’ basis in their own time. Service personnel who have served for six years or more are entitled to the Full Support Programme. This entitles them to the Individual Resettlement Training Costs Grant (IRTC) which is worth £534 per person. In addition, Service Leavers may claim Travel and Subsistence costs during their training; the amount of training is dependent on length of service up to a maximum of 35 days for those who have served for 16 years or more. The Joint Service Housing Advice Office (JSHAO) is the MOD’s tri-Service focal point set up to provide Service personnel and their families with civilian housing information for those wishing to move to civilian accommodation at any point in their career, and to those during Armed Forces Resettlement to assist the transition to civilian life. Delivered through briefings, Housing Matters magazine publication, and one to one discussions where necessary. JSHAO also manages the MOD Referral Scheme supporting social housing in conjunction with Local Authorities and Housing Associations. The cost for providing advice is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Motor Vehicles: Rights of Way

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord De Mauley on 23 February (HL4993), whether (1) National Trails and (2) the National Association for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which are both directly affected, will be invited to join as full members of the stakeholder working group when established .

Lord De Mauley: Defra will work with Natural England to invite stakeholders with the relevant experience and expertise to join the motor vehicle stakeholder working group. The composition of the group is yet to be decided, but the intention is that members will be invited to join the group based on their expertise and ability to work constructively with others, rather than simply on whom they represent.   We will invite interested organisations to put forward their suggestions for suitable members. The group will contain a balance of interests from across all sectors and we plan to have members who can represent the interests of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Trails.

Lake District National Park

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the area of land that is owned by the Lake District National Park Authority; and whether they will list the sites that it owns.

Lord De Mauley: Defra’s asset register lists assets within Defra ownership. National park assets are outside of the Government estate and as such are not listed. The Lake District National Park Authority has voluntarily provided the following information regarding properties they currently own or manage:   The Lake District National Park Authority own nearly 9,000 hectares of land which is 3.92 per cent of the total land area (229,200 hectares) of the national park.   As at 27 February 2015 the Lake District National Park Authority owns 168 properties, contained within 118 sites, as follows:   1 Ambleside Depot 2 Banerigg and Lady Woods 3 Banks Point 4 Barf Common 5 Barnes Land 6 Bassenthwaite Lake 7 Beck Wythop 8 Beech Hill access land 9 Beech Hill car park 10 Beech Hill public toilets 11 Blackstock Point 12 Blawith Common 13 Blea Brows 14 Blue Hill & Red Bank Woods 15 Bowness Bay Information Centre 16 Brathay Riverside (north bank) 17 Brathay Riverside (south bank) 18 Brathay Riverside car park 19 Broadgate Meadow car park 20 Broadness Meadow 21 Brockhole car parks 22 Brockhole Lodge 23 Brockhole public toilets 24 Brockhole Tree Top Treks office 25 Brockhole Visitor Centre 26 Bronwen Nixon Bridge (Ambleside) 27 Broughton Depot 28 Brown Howe access land 29 Brown Howe car park 30 Brown Howe public toilets 31 Buttermere village car park 32 Buttermere village public toilets 33 Caldbeck Common 34 Caldbeck village car park 35 Caldbeck village green fragments 36 Calder Valley woods 37 Calder Valley woods car park 38 Calfclose and Needlelee Woods 39 Chapel Bridge car park 40 Coniston Boating Centre 41 Coniston Boating Centre - Bluebird Café 42 Coniston Boating Centre car park 43 Coniston Boating Centre public toilets 44 Coniston Old Station car park 45 Coniston, Ruskin Avenue car park 46 Coniston, Ruskin Avenue former Information Centre 47 Coniston, Ruskin Avenue land opposite The Crown 48 Coniston, Ruskin Avenue public toilets 49 Copper House / Mealy Gill bridge 50 Cow Bridge car park 51 Craggy Wood 52 Derwent Foot 53 Duddon Iron Furnace 54 Duddon Iron Furnace car park 55 Dungeon Ghyll car park 56 Elterwater toilets 57 Eskdale Green toilets 58 Eusemere car park 59 Fell Dyke car park 60 Glenridding Common Area shared with National Trust 61 Glenridding Common Main area - sole ownership 62 Glenridding village car park 63 Glenridding village Information Centre 64 Glenridding village public toilets 65 Gowbarrow lakeshore access land 66 Gowbarrow lakeshore lay-bys 67 Grange Crags car park 68 Greenside Mines 69 Greenside Mines - Helvellyn Hostel YHA 70 Greenside Mines - Striding Edge Hostel 71 Hammarbank car park 72 Hassness estate 73 Hassness estate - Dalegarth House 74 Hassness estate - Hassness House 75 Haverthwaite Heights 76 Hawkshead village car park 77 Hawkshead village former info centre 78 Hawkshead village public toilets 79 Hesket Newmarket car park 80 Hesket Newmarket Village Green 81 High Dam & Bell Intake car park 82 High Dam & Bell Intake Woods 83 Howk (The) 84 Hursthole Point 85 Keswick Information Centre 86 Keswick railway line footpath 87 Kirkstone Pass car park 88 Land at Brackenbarrow, Torver 89 Land at Keswick Rly Station 90 Lingy Fell shooting hut 91 Long Bridge NE parcel 92 Long Bridge SW parcel 93 Longsleddale toilets 94 Ludderburn 95 Machell Coppice 96 Monk Coniston public toilets 97 Monk Coniston car park 98 Murley Moss 99 Ouse Bridge access land 100 Ouse Bridge car park 101 Paddock Wray Woods 102 Peel Wyke car park 103 Peel Wyke harbour lakeshore 104 Penny Rock and White Moss Woods 105 Powter How car park 106 Powter How woods 107 Ravenglass Roman Fort 108 Ravenglass village car park 109 Ravenglass village public toilets 110 Rawlinson Nab 111 Red Pit car park 112 Rough Mire & Green Mire 113 Rusland Moss 114 Rusland Tannery 115 Rusland Woods (Border Moss Wood) 116 Rusland Woods (Glass Knott) 117 Rusland Woods (Hall Brow Woods) 118 Rusland Woods (Round Close Wood) 119 Rusland Woods (Stony Hazel Woods) 120 Rusland Woods (Thwaite Head Woods) 121 Rusland Woods (Waterside Knott) 122 Rusland Woods (Yew Barrow Woods) 123 Scout Scar access land 124 Scout Scar car park 125 Seathwaite car park 126 Silecroft car park 127 Silecroft Heath 128 Silecroft Heath Caravan site 129 Silecroft public toilets 130 Stanley Ghyll 131 Station Coppice car park 132 Stickle Tarn 133 Stock Lane car park 134 Stock Lane public toilets 135 Stockdale Wood 136 Storms Estate 137 The Parks (Haverthwaite) 138 Threlkeld old station - Northern Office 139 Threlkeld old station car park 140 Tilberthwaite Ghyll access land 141 Tilberthwaite Ghyll car park 142 Torver Back Common 143 Torver Common Wood 144 Torver High Common 145 Torver Low Common 146 Trough House Bridge access land 147 Trough House Bridge car park 148 Troutbeck Station 149 Uldale Common 150 Uldale Village Green 151 Ullswater 152 Waterhead (Ambleside) car park 153 Waterhead (Ambleside) former information centre 154 Waterhead (Ambleside) public toilets 155 Whitbarrow Scar 156 Windermere islands - Crow Holme 157 Windermere islands - Grass Holme 158 Windermere islands - Haws Holme 159 Windermere islands - Lilies of the Valley E 160 Windermere islands - Lilies of the Valley W 161 Windermere islands - Ling Holme 162 Windermere islands - Maiden Holme 163 Windermere islands - Silver Holme 164 Windermere islands - Thompson Holme 165 Woodend Brow car park 166 Woodend Brow Wood 167 Woodend Farm 168 Yewbarrow Woods (Longsleddale)

Lake District National Park

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when, for what stated purposes and in what circumstances (including whether gifted or purchased) the following sites were acquired by the Lake District National Park Authority: Stickle Tarn (Great Langdale), Yewbarrow Woods (Longsleddale), Blue Hill and Red Bank Wood, Blea Brows (Coniston Water), Lady Wood (White Moss), Banerigg Wood (White Moss), and the amenity land with river frontage at Portinscale that is currently being offered for sale; and what is the current predominant land use in each case.

Lord De Mauley: The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Lords, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord de Mauley): National Park Authorities are independent bodies and the information requested is not held centrally by Her Majesty’s Government. The Lake District National Park Authority has voluntarily provided the following information regarding the properties being sold by it:   Stickle Tarn (Great Langdale)  Purchased in 1960 to secure it as open space for recreation. This is the predominant land use, protected under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.   Yewbarrow Woods (Longsleddale) Purchased in 1983 to maintain and secure its condition. The predominant land use is woodland and SSSI.   Blue Hill and Red Bank Wood, Ambleside Purchased in 1977 and 2000 for woodland creation, improvement and public access. The predominant use is as accessible woodland.   Blea Brows, Coniston Water,  Leased from 1975 and then purchased in 2000 for the purpose of securing public access. This is the predominant land use, protected under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.   Lady Wood (White Moss), Grasmere  Purchased in 1972 to secure public access. The predominant use is accessible woodland.   Banerigg Wood (White Moss), Grasmere Purchased in 1972 to secure public access. The predominant use is accessible woodland.   Amenity land with river frontage at Portinscale Purchased in 1981 for public amenity and public access. This is the predominant land use, protected under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

Lake District National Park

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each of the following sites owned by the Lake District National Park Authority, what is the current public access situation, what will be the public access situation following a sale, and how any access is guaranteed and for how long: Stickle Tarn (Great Langdale), Yewbarrow Woods (Longsleddale), Blue Hill and Red Bank Wood, Blea Brows (Coniston Water), Lady Wood (White Moss), Banerigg Wood (White Moss), and the amenity land with river frontage at Portinscale that is currently being offered for sale.

Lord De Mauley: All but one of the sites has rights of access on foot under Part 1 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. These rights are not affected as a result of sale of the land.   In terms of the specific sites, the following access rights apply:   · Stickle Tarn (Great Langdale) - The land around the tarn is open-access land (although the water-body of the tarn itself is not). · Yewbarrow Woods (Longsleddale) – No pre-existing public rights of access. · Blue Hill and Red Bank Wood - This land is open-access land. · Blea Brows (Coniston Water) - This land is open-access land. · Lady Wood (White Moss) - This land is open-access land. · Banerigg Wood (White Moss) - This land is open-access land. · Land at Portinscale - No pre-existing public rights of open access. As part of the sale process, the Lake District National Park Authority has dedicated the land in perpetuity as open access land under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

National Parks

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which sites have been disposed of by National Park Authorities in England in the past 10 years; when, to whom and for what consideration the disposal took place in each case; and which sites have been advertised for sale but retained by the relevant Authority.

Lord De Mauley: National Park Authorities are independent bodies and the information requested is not held centrally by Her Majesty’s Government. The Lake District National Park Authority has voluntarily provided the following information regarding those properties it has sold:   2007Beckside FarmPrivate Landowner£1,518,5932007Woodlands at MeathopPrivate Landowner£18,0002007Woodlands at Summerhouse KnotCharitable Trust£18,7002007Woodlands at Bank Wood, BassenthwaitePrivate Landowner£28,5002008Ghyll Head & Great Canclestick MossPrivate Landowner£57,5002008Seatoller BarnPrivate Landowner£205,0002009Coniston Station Industrial UnitsGovernment Organisation£24,0002009Troutbeck Station LandPrivate Landowner£31,1652009Park HolmePrivate Landowners£16,2232010Land swap – HawksheadCommercial body£02011Banana FieldPrivate Landowner£36,0002011Winder IntakePrivate Landowner£22,4002011Haverthwaite HeightsCommercial Body£25,0002011Fieldfoot WoodsPrivate Landowner£100,0002011Outfield MeadowCommunity Group£5,0002013Land at Craggy WoodStatutory Undertaker£5,0002013Pool Wood, HawksheadPrivate Landowner£22,5002013Fox Ghyll WoodsPrivate Landowner£150,0002014BlencathraEducation Charity - Sitting Tenant£1,475,000

Home Office

Entry Clearances

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to transfer control of the issuing of visitor visas from the Home Office to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Lord Bates: There are no plans to transfer the issuing of visitor visa nor any entry clearance from the Home Office to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Asylum: LGBT People

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people claimed asylum in the United Kingdom due to their sexuality in each of the years from 2008 to 2014; from which countries they came by number; and how many cases were granted or refused.

Lord Bates: It is not possible to provide the information requested about people who have claimed asylum on the basis of their sexuality, as information on the basis of a claim for asylum is not readily accessible. The information requested could only be obtained through a manual search of individual case files, which would only be achievable at a disproportionate cost.

Cabinet Office

European Union

Lord Boswell of Aynho: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total cost of the Review of the Balance of Competences between the United Kingdom and the European Union to the UK Statistics Authority and its associated agencies, broken down by (1) staff time, (2) printing costs, (3) running of engagement events, (4) witness expenses, (5) publicity of the reports, and (6) any and all other associated costs.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The statistics element of the Balance of Competences Review was included within the cross-cutting report on Voting, Consular and Statistics, which was led by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The following information relates to the UK Statistics Authority's costs associated with contributing to the report.   (1) A full breakdown of staff time and associated travel / subsistence costs could only be obtained at disproportionate cost, but the staff cost of the Review was borne within existing budgets.  (2) The UK Statistics Authority contributed £1385.00 towards printing and publication costs.  (3) The UK Statistics Authority did not run any engagement events.   (4) Across the whole of the Balance of Competences Review witness expenses amounted to approximately £2,255.00, which were borne by the FCO.  (5) The UK Statistics Authority did not incur any costs publicising the reports.  (6) There were no other associated costs.

National Income

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 11 December 2014 (HL3588), whether they will list the Gross Domestic Product data inputs that do include a nationality-based question in their survey responses; and why in each of those cases a nationality question is included.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.  



UK Statistics Authority Reply
(PDF Document, 103.19 KB)

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the Prime Minister appointed Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint as a trustee and chair of the Natural History Museum; and from whom advice was taken on that appointment.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Prime Minister appointed Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint as Trustee of the Natural History Museum on 1st April 2014; Lord Green's appointment as Chair was made by the Board of Trustees. The appointment of Lord Green was made following an open competition and in making this decision the Prime Minister took advice from the Secretary of State of Culture, Media and Sport.

Tickets: Touting

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Mr Ajay Chowdhury, as a Non-Executive Director at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, has had any involvement in the current discussions on ticket touting relating to the Consumer Rights Bill.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Non-executive directors have not been involved in discussions relating to the secondary ticket market and the Consumer Rights Bill.

Gaelic Athletic Association

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to recognise the Gaelic Athletic Association in England as a body to which grants could be paid.

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have paid any grants to the Gaelic Athletic Association in England.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Sport England can only award grants to the Gaelic Athletic Association if it is recognised as a governing body for Gaelic sports in England. Sport England is currently working with the Gaelic Athletic Association to explore how an English body can be established to seek recognition and be eligible to apply for Sport England grants.

Department of Health

NHS: Finance

Lord Tyler: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the final outturn for each hospital trust in England for each of the last five years; and how much the surplus or deficit was as a proportion of each trust’s total budget.

Earl Howe: Data by individual National Health Service trust and foundation trust is attached.   NHS trusts and foundation trusts do not receive budgets directly from the Department. They receive income for the provision of services from NHS commissioners. We have therefore provided details in the attached annex of operating income by NHS trust and foundation trust. 



Provider Surplus Deficit Income tables
(Excel SpreadSheet, 70.21 KB)

NHS: Finance

Baroness Cumberlege: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the terms of reference for the forthcoming consultation on the National Tariff.

Earl Howe: Section 118 of the Health and Social Care Act sets out the terms of reference under which consultation for Tariff proposals should be undertaken. As the consultation is statutory it has to be undertaken as stated in the Act. In addition, the proposals were subject to consultation by virtue of section 69(7) of that Act.